


Once a year

by UndeadFae



Category: Inazuma Eleven
Genre: Birthday Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Not Beta Read, and the rest of teikoku, kidou and fudou are there for a while, lots of comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-08
Updated: 2020-05-08
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:08:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24069376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UndeadFae/pseuds/UndeadFae
Summary: Sakuma's birthdays weren't always great or uneventful as he hoped, more often than not being nothing more than a mess he wanted to forget. Genda refused to let him be miserable like he expected, and Sakuma couldn't be any more grateful.
Relationships: Genda Koujirou/Sakuma Jirou
Comments: 5
Kudos: 14





	Once a year

**Author's Note:**

> HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO SAKUMA HAVE THIS SAPPY MUSHY MESS

For as long as he could remember, Genda had always been at his side, always there with his big, dumb and bright grin and ready to help. He was always a light in his life, always bringing him back when he was at his lowest. If it meant just making sure his birthday would be as special as it should be, then Genda would gladly do it without hesitation.

* * *

That year, Sakuma’s birthday just so happened to be around the same time he was in the hospital, feverish and now permanently half blind.

As much as he wanted to, there was no way he could ever get out of there in time to celebrate anything, and it was really showing in his mood. Genda couldn’t help but worry whenever he came to see him, only to find his friend gradually grow quieter, looking sadder and more upset by the day.

He had made up his mind- he would help his best friend, one way or another.

The day of his birthday came up, and Sakuma’s mood was at its lowest since he had been hospitalized. As much as the nurses tried, no one could get even a word out of him, the child just curling up on his side with his back turned to them.

Then, Genda walked into the room as soon as visiting hours started.

“Hey, Sakuma!” Without waiting for an answer, he had already pushed the blankets aside and hopped on the bed, sitting at his friend’s side and shaking his shoulder. Sakuma tried as hard as he could to ignore him, to push him away and make him leave, but Genda was stubborn, had always been and would never change.

“… What do you want…” His soft voice was almost enough to make Genda back off. Almost.

“What do you mean what do I want? I’m here for you- it’s your birthday!”

That did it. Sakuma sat up at that, ready to snap, to yell how none of that mattered because now he was just ugly and broken and no one would ever want him. He didn’t even get the first word out, his eye wide as he stared at what Genda had done.

Colorful balloons were tied to his bed, a small cake with equally colorful and eye catching, sugary decorations sitting on the nightstand. Genda was watching him with his usual grin, a big, badly wrapped present in his arms with a bright red ribbon sitting on the penguin and snowflakes patterned paper.

“Genda…?” Was all of this really for him…?

“Happy birthday!” He was already handing him the gift, his grin now turning into a softer smile. “I know you’re sad while you’re stuck here… so I came here with you. You should get to be happy on your birthday!”

Sakuma didn’t say anything at first, just kept staring in silence at everything that was brought in. Right as Genda was getting worried over having made things worse, Sakuma nearly threw his gift aside to hug him as tightly as he could, tears already rolling down his cheek.

“T-thank you…” Genda blinked, taken aback. Then, he quickly hugged him back, a relieved smile on his face.

“I’m glad- do you want to open your gift now? I don’t mind if you do- or if you wait, whatever you want! Oh- and I brought more stuff too!” When he pulled away from the hug, he took off his backpack to pull it on his lap, looking a lot more stuffed than usual. “We can watch movies, or play games, or- well, we can do what you want! Just pick!”

The rest of the afternoon was spent between all the games Genda had managed to stuff in his backpack and a few movies when Sakuma didn’t feel like playing anymore. His new penguin had been at his side for the whole afternoon, big enough that he couldn’t even fully wrap his arms around it. When it was time to get to the cake, a nurse kindly offered to light the candle and supervise the cutting, the two children happily offering her a slice as a thanks. It wasn’t a party, or even just a cheerful day spent outside… but it was enough. Genda was there for him, Genda cared enough to come and celebrate it with him. That was special enough for him.

That night, when he buried his face in the soft fabric of his new friend, Sakuma couldn’t help the tiny smile on his face.

* * *

Ever since they had joined Teikoku, Sakuma had been working hard to prove his worth, refusing to let a blind eye define him with pitiful gazes and sorrow. Genda still tried to hold him back just enough to let him rest before he could push himself way past his limits.

He had been so busy with his training in his attempt to prove himself, that he had completely forgotten what week it was. Genda wouldn’t let a day so important just pass by unnoticed.

The day had been going smoothly, odd stares thrown his direction aside. Sakuma didn’t pay them any mind- he was used to them, had gotten used to them ever since he walked out of that hospital with an eye patch and one less functioning eye. He could deal with them.

It all changed as soon as the afternoon practice was scheduled to start like the flip of a switch. Sakuma was opening the door to the locker room, already mentally going over everything he had to do, every mistake he had caught and was determined to fix and every little thing he needed to improve on.

The lights were off.

He felt for the light switch in the dark, already groaning to himself as he expected some stupid prank or anything like that, flipping it as he finally found it- and the confetti were flying, falling all over him between their laughter, screams of happy birthday welcoming him.

Sakuma stared with a wide eye at the rest of the team, all gathered there with a fairly big, igloo shaped cake sitting on a foldable table, pale blue icing and sugar penguins decorating it, perfectly matching the wrapping of the few gifts surrounding it, accompanied by soda bottles and snacks. They had even taken the time to hang a few decorations on the lockers, simple enough to be easily removed, yet still big and eye catching. Needless to say, he was at loss for words.

Unsurprisingly, Genda was the first to step up, grin on his face as he walked closer and wrapped an arm around Sakuma’s shoulders to pull him closer to the group.

“What’s wrong? Cat got your tongue?” The awful joke snapped him out of his surprise, rolling his eye as he finally looked at Genda.

“Was this your idea?” Genda nodded immediately, looking quite proud of himself.

“Yup- you were about to forget your birthday! Do you really think I could just let that happen?” Of course he’d consider his birthday important enough to get everyone he could on board with in his little plan.

“To be fair, most of what he did was tell us about your birthday and what you liked. We helped with everything else.” Their captain- Kidou had decided it was time to speak up, his usually serious attitude replaced by a somewhat awkward, yet genuine smile. Even when he tried to hide it, they all knew he still cared for them. Sakuma was willing to bet the money for the cake had come out of his wallet, even when Genda would’ve insisted on paying it himself.

Under their insistence, Sakuma got closer to the cake, allowing them to snap a few pics between giggles and harmless teasing before singing. They were way too late for the afternoon practice, their coach was definitely mad at them and they all ended up leaving later than usual… but no one seemed to mind. It was a nice and much needed break from the suffocating pressure to be perfect.

As they walked back home, Genda was still snacking on an extra slice he had managed to steal from the leftovers as he rambled over this or that thing. Sakuma had a box in his hands with the bigger part of what was left of the cake, all the gifts carefully tucked away in his bag. He couldn’t help the smile on his face as he watched his idiot of a best friend, not even sure of where he would be without him.

“Hey, Genda?” He cut himself off mid-sentence to turn to him, a puzzled look on his face.

“What is it?” His smile was soft, the happiest Genda had seen him in a while. He returned it in full with a bright grin on his own.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

* * *

His birthday was coming up. Sakuma couldn’t help the nerves as he thought about it, the idea alone enough to haunt him.

It shouldn’t be any different than his other birthdays- it didn’t feel any more special. Except now Genda was no longer his best friend, not anymore. They were together now, dating for months after the Shin Teikoku disaster had blown off. It was one of many changes in such a little time span.

Without Kageyama breathing down their necks like the ever present shadow he was in their lives, the life at Teikoku didn’t feel as oppressive anymore. It also meant that the team could collectively decide to skip practice on special occasions to catch up on it another day- birthdays being one of those occasions.

He didn’t really have a say in the matter- it was at least a month before his birthday when the team announced that they were taking the afternoon of his birthday to celebrate, practice be damned. There was no way to convince any of them otherwise, too stubborn and determined to help their friends as much as they could. Even if he had tried to go to practice as usual, he already knew someone –likely Genda, that idiot- would drag him out kicking and screaming if he had to, not even allowing him to change out of his soccer uniform.

And that was how he met up with the rest of the team in front of the locker room, their usual meet up spot before they would be heading somewhere. Even if Kidou couldn’t ditch Raimon’s practice to make it, they still agreed to meet him later, refusing to let him get away so easily. Not like Kidou seemed to mind, really.

“Hey, the lovebirds finally join us!”

“Henmi- shut up before I make you.” No one really believed his threat- especially when Sakuma leaned up to kiss his boyfriend’s cheek with a shit eating grin, clinging to his arm.

“We’re still in time to leave them and celebrate by ourselves, you know?” Genda rolled his eyes, happily returning the kiss.

“That doesn’t sound half bad.”

“Alright, alright, we get it- you can get a room later for this.” Henmi’s sarcastic remark was met with a sharp elbow to his side and Sakiyama’s glare. “A-anyways- we can get going now.”

“Fine- and where are we going?”

Unsurprisingly, no one had really planned much other than pizza for dinner. Winging it was the consensus as they walked out of the school and towards the nearest mall.

“Oh-! I got it!” Narukami perked up as soon as they stepped into the mall. “We could go to the arcade! They have a new dance game now!” Those words were all they needed to hear- it didn’t take much to ignite a little competition between a bunch of rowdy teenagers. Even if little might be an understatement when it came to the Teikoku team.

In the end, what sweat they hadn’t worked up during practice was very much worked up in the middle of their improvised dance competition, what started as friendly banter over each other’s skills quickly devolving into a full blown mini-tournament. At some point, they had lost track entirely of who was winning against who, just wanting to crush each other at the new challenge while the ones sitting out were eating snacks and cheering them on.

Sakuma was smiling, openly laughing at his own and his friends’ mistakes, loudly cheering on his boyfriend whenever it was his turn to shine and show off, almost louder than the rest of the team. At some point, Narukami and Doumen had snuck off to other games, coming back between rounds to watch their progress before scurrying off to accumulate more tickets. When they were starting to feel like they had hoarded the dance arcade machine for too long, they split up for a bit to head towards other games, decided to get some more fun in before leaving to meet Kidou and go get dinner.

Genda had dragged Sakuma off to the racing game, grinning as he hopped on one of the bikes and turned to him.

“So? How do I look?” Sakuma rolled his eyes, barely fighting back a smile. He did, however, pull out his phone to snap a quick pic. That would be a great background for the next few days or so.

“Don’t worry, you look very cool- are you going to invite me for a ride or what?”

“Oh, you don’t worry- it’ll be the first thing I’ll do when I get a license.” And he fully meant that. Sakuma stubbornly ignored the blush creeping on his cheeks at the mere idea.

With everyone done with the arcade and ready to go, they gathered to the prizes counter before leaving. As Genda watched carefully every prize and his number of tickets, Narukami and Doumen were excitedly talking to each other about the pair of headphones they found, not quite on the level of Narukami’s, but good enough, especially to help Doumen match him. Henmi was snickering to himself at the cat mouth mask he found and quickly handed over to Sakiyama- who didn’t really hesitate to put over his own mask. Jimon, Banjou and Oono were too busy arguing over the rest of the prizes to even settle on something.

Then, Sakuma noticed one of the plushies, quickly asking for it and handing over his tickets.

“Hey, Koujirou-” he blinked, suddenly faced with a big stuffed lion, then looking back at Sakuma.

“W-what- but it’s your birthday, not mine!” Sakuma just pouted, pushing it in his arms.

“And I want to give you this, so just take it, you idiot- besides… I already have the greatest gift I could ever ask for.” And with that, he leaned up to kiss him right on the lips. He already got to spend nearly every day with Genda, how could he ask for anything better than that?

“F-fine, I’ll take it… thank you.” As much as he would’ve preferred his boyfriend to get something for himself, he couldn’t really refuse now, knowing how stubborn he was. It wasn’t like he didn’t have a gift ready for him anyways. And so, Genda eagerly returned the kiss, an arm holding his new lion close as the other reached out to take Sakuma’s.

When they left the arcade, there was a new cat keychain hanging from his phone to go with his lion.

They finally met up with Kidou at the nearby pizzeria, taking their sweet time to walk there even though it was barely minutes away on foot. Whatever comment he wanted to make on their timing, it was gone as soon as he saw them proudly displaying their arcade prizes, shaking his head in an attempt to hide his smile.

When they sat down to eat, Sakuma was happily leaning against Genda, the lion sitting on his other side and safe from the threat food posed to his soft fabric fur. Genda had not so subtly put an arm around his boyfriend’s shoulder to hold him a bit closer, ignoring the snickers whenever he stole a quick kiss from him. Even the usual arguments over the pizza toppings or the last slice were toned down for once, just enjoying the night between friends.

No one was surprised when Kidou announced that he had bought the cake- it seemed like it had become a habit for him, putting his money towards the best cakes he could afford. Turns out, he could afford some quite pricey cakes. Not like anyone else cared- they made for both great pics and delicious desserts. And breakfasts. Someone should’ve told Kidou to at least buy smaller cakes.

In the end, Sakuma had to make the arcade pic his lock screen background. There was no way he wasn’t using the cake pic as his actual background, not when he could see clearly Genda’s bright smile as he hugged him with one arm and his lion with the other.

When Genda walked him back, he couldn’t hold back from pulling him down for another kiss, taking a bit longer than usual with it. Genda didn’t mind, smiling against his lips and not quite willing to pull back.

Even with everything that had changed, Genda was still there for him, as warm as always.

* * *

The FFI was still going strong, each team doing their best to get to the top, each player training as hard as they could to keep up. That year, Sakuma’s birthday just so happened to land in the middle of the very big and important tournament, right as he was away from his team- from his family.

He had thrown himself into training as much and as hard as he could to keep himself from thinking too hard about it, knowing he would start feeling upset as soon as he remembered the most painful part of it all.

Genda wasn’t there with him.

His boyfriend hadn’t been picked, even with all the effort he had put into becoming stronger. He wasn’t able to come to Liocott Island with them. He wasn’t there with him when he needed him the most, their daily calls and texts not really enough to fill in the silence in his room.

Maybe this year he would just skip his birthday. It’s not like anyone there would really find out.

It was already the day before anyways.

“Hey, Sakuma?” Kidou’s muffled voice from the other side of the door snapped him out of his thoughts, forcing him out of bed to go open it.

“What is it?” He managed to muster up just enough strength to fake a tiny smile as he peeked at his friend from the crack of the door. Kidou’s brow furrowed as he watched him, clearly not buying it.

“I need to go get some stuff before it gets dark- do you mind coming with me? I could use the help.”

“Yeah, sure- just give me a moment.” Gathering and pocketing his phone and wallet, Sakuma quickly stepped out of his room to follow. Kidou was still glancing at him in worry as they made their way downstairs.

“… Are you really okay?”

“Yes- I’m fine, really. Just a bit tired from all the training, nothing new.” Before Kidou could call him out on that lie, someone sneered behind them. Sakuma inwardly groaned as he glared at Fudou. Why he was so interested in their business, Sakuma wasn’t quite sure- even if they had more or less gotten through their differences to deal with Team K and sort of learned to accept each other as friends, it was still a work in progress.

“Right- think you can give us the truth now?”

He just wasn’t in the mood to deal with any of this.

“Fudou- not now.” Thankfully, Kidou had been faster to act. Fudou just sort of shrugged.

“Right, sorry.” He still sounded way too awkward genuinely apologizing for anything, but it would do for now. As they headed for the door, Fudou quietly followed, Sakuma raising an eyebrow at him.

“And you are coming because…?”

“I have my own stuff to do, might as well walk out now.” Well, as long as he wasn’t trying to annoy him any more than he already did on a daily basis, Sakuma didn’t really care.

True to his word, Fudou soon went on his own way after a quick wave of his hand. Kidou gestured at Sakuma to get on the bus with him, his eye narrowing in confusion and suspicion as he followed.

“Where are we going now?” Kidou was too busy texting on his phone to reply right away.

“You’ll see soon, don’t worry- we’ll be back to the hotel soon.” Looked like that was the most answer he would be getting out of Kidou for now. Huffing, he took a seat by the window, absently looking outside. Every once in a while, he glanced at Kidou, still too busy with his phone, even smiling to himself when he checked it on occasions. Sakuma only hoped they wouldn’t be missing their stop, whatever it was.

He was so distraught with his own thoughts, it took him a while to notice the area the bus was now driving through. Brow furrowing, he turned to Kidou, now decided to get an explanation.

“Kidou? We- we’re not in the Japan area anymore, are you sure we didn’t miss our stop?”

Kidou was giving him that knowing smirk of his, enough to get under his skin.

“Don’t worry- our stop is the next one.” Sakuma still wasn’t quite believing it, but quietly nodded, a bit more uneasy in his seat.

When the bus stopped, Kidou stood up, Sakuma quickly following him out and through the streets. Then, Kidou stopped at their apparent destination. Sakuma stared, baffled as he found himself in front of the airport.

“Come on- we’re going to be late if we wait any longer.” With a pat to the back, Kidou led him inside. Of all the questions in his mind, Sakuma couldn’t get any of them out, still too baffled by all the secrets and oddities.

His eye widened, body freezing and almost shaking, words stuck in his throat. Sitting inside the airport, phone in hand and a duffel bag at his side, Genda stood up, a tired yet relieved smile on his face as he looked at him.

“Hey, Jirou… You-” before he could find something to say, Sakuma was already running towards him. Genda barely had the time to react and catch him in the tightest hug he could manage, refusing to let go of him. He could feel the tears pricking at his eye and threatening to fall, but he didn’t care- all that mattered was having Genda there. With him.

When he looked at him, he was still at loss for words, his cheeks hurting from how much he was smiling- much more than he had been in days. Without hesitation, he leaned in for a kiss, almost desperate, wanting nothing more than to keep holding him close. Even when he pulled back, all he could was keep staring at him, still not letting go.

“Y-you… how…?”

“Kidou and I had been talking about it for a while… he helped me get here in time. We couldn’t get everyone here today, but they’ll be coming on the weekend to make up for it.”

Even when they were miles and hours away… they all still cared enough to find a way to come. All for him.

Genda quickly found himself gently wiping the tears away from his cheeks, soft smile still on his face and an arm still wrapped around his waist to hold him close. For a while, they just stood there in silence, holding each other and enjoying the moment.

“Hey… I don’t want to interrupt, but we should get going before we lose our bus.” Sakuma nodded, settling for taking his boyfriend’s hand as he reached for his bag.

“Right, right…” as much as he wanted to just keep holding Genda, he was more eager to get back to the hotel rather than accidentally spend the night on a hard plastic chair at the airport.

The bus ride back to their area felt much different, a lot more comfortable and relaxed. As soon as they sat down, Sakuma rested his head against Genda’s shoulder, leaning into the hug with a content smile. Genda was resting his chin on top of his boyfriend’s head, happily nuzzling into his hair. Kidou didn’t bother them, just looking at his phone with a smile.

As soon as the bus stopped, Sakuma was already tugging on Genda’s hand to drag him out, barely giving him any time to grab his bag from the other seat. Inside the hotel, Fudou was tapping his foot impatiently, a box on the table next to him.

“About damn time- did you stop to get a room somewhere on your way back?” Sakuma just rolled his eye, Genda huffing to bite back a smile.

“They just needed some time- did you get the cake?”

“Wait- cake?” Sakuma blinked, staring at them. Fudou just gestured with his thumb at the small box.

“Yeah- the other one’s in the fridge already, don’t worry.” Sakuma was still staring dumbfounded. Genda smiled at his confusion.

“Did you really think I would be coming for your birthday and there wouldn’t be a cake? Consider this one a pre celebration.”

“Can we split it before anyone else sees, then?” For his impatience, Fudou just received a glare.

“Just for that you’ll get the smallest slice I can cut.”

“Hey! I had to carry the two boxes all the way from the bakery!” Sakuma very maturely stuck his tongue out in answer, letting Fudou rant as Kidou picked up the box with a sigh.

When they headed back to Sakuma’s room, he was still smiling and laughing, the happiest anyone had seen him since they had reached the island.

* * *

With practice over, Sakuma put away the whistle, watching the kids rest and drink water, chatting with each other as they headed to the locker room. He was ready to pack his stuff and leave as well, work be damned, eager to just go back home with his husband to enjoy the day.

When he was ready to say goodbye and walk out, he found himself face to face with their young keeper. Miyabino was trying very hard to look serious, despite how very obviously awkward he was.

“… Is something wrong?”

“No, just-” before finishing his sentence, Miyabino reached into his bag, looking around before finally pulling out a small, squishy penguin plush. “W-well, Kidou and Genda said it’s your birthday, so- happy birthday, coach!”

Sakuma blinked, taken aback, not expecting the surprise. Before the poor kid could start overthinking his decision, Sakuma smiled, gently picking the penguin from his hands before ruffling his hair.

“Thank you- I really appreciate this.” Miyabino’s serious expression quickly turned into a bright smile, wishing him the best as he rushed to leave with the rest of the team. He made a note of putting it with the rest of his special penguin collection as he left the school.

He hadn’t even managed to step into the street when a loud engine caught his attention. Approaching him in a shining bike painted with claw marks and rough paw prints, Genda stopped right in front of him, taking off his helmet with a smirk on his face.

“Hello, I’m here to pick up my beautiful husband, mind letting him know?” Sakuma sighed, rolling his eye as he tucked the new penguin into his bag, leaning in to peck his lips. Ever since he had gifted him that bike a year or so ago, Genda almost refused to drive anything else, completely smitten with the thing. Not like he particularly minded, getting to ride it while holding tightly onto him was very much nice.

“Well, do you have a gift for me? Or are you going to make me wait?” In retaliation, Genda dramatically put a hand to his chest with a wounded look.

“How could you think I wouldn’t have a gift for someone as perfect as you? For shame.” Sakuma was barely holding back his laughter by now, even with his cheeks starting to turn red thanks to his words. He always had to find a way to make him smile, somehow- and it still worked after years together.

Genda couldn’t hold himself back anymore either, bursting out laughing and nearly doubling over. He was not good at this whole dramatic thing, really. That’s what he liked to think at least, even as everyone else pointed at his many matches and even more dramatic saves and words.

“Come on, let’s go home- everyone else is waiting for us already and you know how things will get if we leave Fudou and Narukami in the same room without supervision for more than five minutes. Kidou needs some help to keep everyone under control.”

Without waiting for another invitation, Sakuma took a seat behind him on the bike, his arms wrapped closely around his husband’s torso, humming as he nuzzled into his back.

Genda turned to look at him, now with a soft, loving smile on his face, not starting up his bike quite yet. Sakuma didn’t hesitate to lean in for another kiss, taking his sweet time with it. How he was holding back from just making him turn around to make out on the spot, neither of them really knew. Probably had to do with being more or less in public.

When they parted, Genda was still smiling, still looking at him with the same unwavering love of years of understanding, of hardships and battles fought together one way or another, of those little moments only the two of them could share. It was the much welcome reassurance that nothing would be changing between them, that they would just keep loving each other no matter what happened.

Genda was still his light and his warmth. He wouldn’t trade this for anything in the world.

“Happy birthday, Jirou.”


End file.
